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Make a tax-deductible donation to the Zonta Club of Santa Clarita Valley Foundation.

History of Zonta and the Zonta Club of Santa Clarita Valley

In Buffalo, New York in January 1919, five women attending a social meeting of Kiwanis as guests conceived the formation of a new service club. This new club would be composed of women who were recognized leaders in their businesses and professions. The primary purpose of the club would be to standardize and disseminate business principles and practices and to provide service to humanity through cooperative efforts.

The name “Zonta” was made official at the 1930 Convention in Seattle, Washington. The word “Zonta” is from the Teton dialect of the Sioux stock of Native American languages. The word signifies “honest and trustworthy”. The official colors, mahogany and gold, and the Zonta Emblem (designed by Buffalo Zontian and artist Helen Fuchs Gundlach) were actually adopted ten tears earlier in April 1920 at the first executive session in Rochester, New York.

Zonta became international in 1927, with the addition of the Zonta Club of Niagara Falls. Over the next several decades, clubs were added in Europe, Latin America, Asia, Africa and Australia.

The Zonta Club of Santa Clarita Valley was founded in 1974 by Mary Stafford, JoAnn Darcy and Alice MacWhirter, among others. Since its establishment, the club has improved the lives of women in the Santa Clarita Valley through a variety of service programs, scholarships and community grants and has actively participated in Zonta International.